FEDERAL COURT BARS HAWAIIAN WOMAN FROM PREPARING TAX RETURNS

Government Alleged Kailua Resident Assisted in the Preparation of Improper Returns

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department announced today that a federal court in Honolulu has barred Carolina A. Newman, of Kailua, Hawaii, from preparing or filing federal income tax returns for others. In entering the permanent injunction order, Judge Alan C. Kay of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii also barred Newman from engaging in conduct that interferes with the administration and enforcement of federal tax laws.

The government alleged in court filings that Newman assisted another return preparer, Lou Ann Moser, in falsely advising military customers that they can claim tax deductions for non-deductible personal expenses such as haircuts, cell-phone and Internet services, and other personal items and services. The government’s complaint alleged that Moser and Newman, operating in Kailua under the business name Accounting Services Trust, prepared federal income tax returns claiming inflated or fabricated deductions. According to the complaint, the IRS estimated that the defendants’ conduct cost the Federal Treasury more than $4 million for tax year 2003 alone. The case against Moser remains pending.

“The Justice Department is working vigorously to stop the preparation and filing of the false or fraudulent returns that unfairly shift the tax burden to honest American taxpayers,” said Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “People who hire others to prepare their returns should review their returns carefully to make sure that they are true, correct, and complete.”

More information about this case is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/prtax/txdv05191.htm This injunction suit is part of an effort to stop the promotion of tax scams and the preparation and filing of false and fraudulent returns. The Justice Department has obtained injunctions against more than 100 promoters and tax preparers since 2001. More information about this effort is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2005.htm. More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/index.html.